Swineshead(5c) Auxiliary Unit and Operational Base.

Thank you for selecting information on the Swineshead (5c) Auxiliary
Unit and their Operational Base in Lincolnshire. The info below has been supplied by our internal
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This page was last updated at 8:19am on 31/12/15

Swineshead was part of group 5 along with Kirton, Swaton and
Donington Patrols.

Research into this patrol and its training is ongoing. The information below is published from
various sources and is by no means conclusive. If information is not listed below
it does not necessarily mean the information is not out there but normally means CART researchers
have not found it yet.

If you have any information on this patrol or can help with research in this area please do
contact us.

The original Intelligence Officer was Captain Donald Hamilton-Hill who went on to join SOE (Special Operations Executive). He was succeeded by Captain William M B Lamb and finally Major H L F Bucknall.

Hamilton-Hill's original Headquarters at Wellingore Hall was quickly requestioned by the RAF as was the second at Blankney Hall. The third and final move was to Dalby Hall and just before stand down, administration was moved to North Bar Within Beverley, Yorkshire.

This was abandoned in favour of a better OB near the medieval motte castle at Manwarings. Sixty years on, Cecil Thornalley of Dalby Patrol visited and described it as “luxury”. It is thought to be intact.

Each Patrol was issued with a gallon of rum. Just before an inspection by Captain Leslie Clarke someone in the Swineshead patrol managed to drop and break the jar, spilling the contents. Captain Clarke commented he “could smell them from a mile away”.

In an interview published in the Lincoln Echo, Eddie Welberry was quoted : “There was the Home Guard to go into but I wasn't very keen on that. We didn't know what we were signing up to but it was a case of wanting to do anything to defend the country. We were issued with amazing set of supplies – revolvers and Sten guns, hand grenades , knives and plastic explosives.

We trained using real explosives, brought down trees, that sort of thing. No one from the surrounding area took much notice of a few extra explosions going off.

We used to go out at night attacking different villages. There would be a target in the village we had to aim for and put a plastic explosive on it. The army would be there and know we were coming and they had to try and stop us.
I Supose if they had landed it would have been pretty fightening“.